ATLANTA, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Nearly half of Medicare beneficiaries with high blood pressure are not taking medications prescribed to them for the condition, increasing risk for a range of poor health outcomes.
About 5 million people over age 65 are not managing their high blood pressure correctly, report researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which can increase risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and death.
CDC researchers call for doctors and care providers to do more to help older Americans adhere to drug regimens, including simplification of treatment, involvement of the entire healthcare team responsible for each patient and addressing financial barriers to care where they exist.
"While the Medicare prescription drug program has increased the affordability and accessibility of prescription drugs, more can be done to encourage Medicare beneficiaries to take their medications as directed," Sean Cavanaugh, deputy administrator and director of the Center for Medicare at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a press release. "Medicare will continue to work with prescription drug plans to educate enrollees about the importance of taking their blood pressure medications as prescribed so that they can lower their risk for heart disease and stroke."
For the study, issued by the CDC as its latest Vital Signs report, agency researchers analyzed medical data for 18.5 million people enrolled in either Medicare Advantage or Original Medicare with Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage during 2014.
According to the data, about 70 percent of American adults over age 65 have high blood pressure, but nearly half do not have it under control. Overall, the researchers found 26.3 percent of Medicare Part D beneficiaries, or 4.9 million people, are nonadherent to a drug regimen.
When broken down by race and ethnicity, the researchers found 24.3 percent of whites, 26.3 percent of Asians and Pacific Islanders, 33.8 percent of Hispanics, 35.7 percent of blacks and 38.8 percent of Native Americans are non-adherent to a drug regimen -- which the researchers suggest may contribute to a higher rate of hypertension and related health conditions among minority groups.
Among the reasons reported for non-adherence were a lack of symptoms, side effects from the drugs, complexity of a drug regimen, cost or simply forgetting to take their medication. The researchers also note that nearly 25 percent of new prescriptions for blood pressure drugs are never filled.
Better tracking of patient drug regimens and more work to help them follow instructions -- including better communication among their treatment team and making instructions as simple as possible -- could improve not only adherence but also overall health conditions, the CDC says.
"A simple action can avoid potentially deadly consequences: take your blood pressure medicine as prescribed," said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC. "Health care providers can make treatment easier to help people keep their blood pressure controlled."
